📖 Meaning
Literally 'a small fish in a foot-wide puddle.' It describes a person of very limited experience and narrow horizons, someone who has never seen the vast world beyond their tiny corner. The idiom criticizes those who are ignorant yet self-satisfied, unaware of how much they do not know.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from 'Reply to the King of Chu' (《对楚王问》) by Song Yu, a poet of the Warring States period in the state of Chu (ca. 3rd century BCE). When King Qingxiang of Chu questioned why Song Yu's conduct attracted criticism from courtiers, Song Yu replied with a series of metaphors contrasting the lofty with the petty. He asked rhetorically: 'How can a small fish in a foot-wide puddle fathom the vastness of rivers and seas?' The piece argues that extraordinary individuals are inevitably misunderstood by the mediocre, much like the phoenix soaring above the clouds is beyond the comprehension of sparrows in the hedgerow.
💡 Example Usage
他从未出过小镇，见识如尺泽之鲵，却自以为无所不知。
Having never left his small town, his knowledge is like that of a fish in a foot-wide puddle, yet he fancies himself all-knowing.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 尺泽之鲵
- Pinyin: chǐ zé zhī ní
- Literal Translation: foot, pond, possessive particle, small fish
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4